Shape Up for Summer: Get the most out of your Cardio!!

So we’ve talked so far about shaping your arms, your abs and waistline for summer, but the main ingredient to this Shape Up for Summer Recipe is CARDIO!!!! Despite the hours you may put in toning your body and sculpting your muscles, if you do not burn the fat that might surround them, YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR BEAUTIFUL MUSCLES!!!! At our Pilates studio, we encourage our clients to cross train with cardio, to the extent that we have cardio equipment in the studio and offer CARDIOLATES® classes so that more cardiosvascular exercise may be integrated into a Pilates workout routine. However, success with cardio exercise depends on many factors other than the type of cardio fitness plan that you choose.

Success with a cardio routine depends on three factors: frequency (how many times per week), duration (how many minutes) and intensity (degree of difficulty), and they are all interrelated. For example, a cardio routine that is of super high intensity may be sustainable for as long a duration as something that is of moderate intensity. And there is also the enjoyment factor! For example, something like climbing stairs is VERY intense, burning up to 150 calories in ten minutes for someone my size (click here for more information); however, if you loathe climbing stairs and cringe at the sight of a stairmaster, you may not be likely to stay on the stairmaster for a sufficient duration to see great results. On top of that, torturing yourself with cardio you hate will likely make you feel justified in skipping your workout the next day (frequency). However, if you love walking, even though it burns less calories when compared with that of other, more high intensity choices, you will most likely increase both the frequency and duration of your workouts, burning more calories over the long term. Some of our clients over the years who are the tiniest are the ones who walk all the time!!!

Plan your cardio routines over a week, not each day, so that you give yourself some leeway. Don’t worry about having to burn 500 calories in a single workout session, especially if you know that you typically can only squeeze that killer workout in twice a week. Wouldn’t it be better to do something that burns only 300 calories, but actually has you doing it 4-5 times per week? That’s a net gain of 200-500 calories per week. And everything adds up. EVERYTHING! So, find a form of cardio that you love to do, because then you’ll do it!!

Life is meant to be enjoyed, not endured, and that goes for cardio, too!!!